Pics from our Halloween dog walk a few years ago. We found their cosumes last night hile trying to make something for Jake to wear to a party. Cassie was a pumpkin, Pancake Sue was a bumble bee, Scout was a construction worker and Emma was a cop. With better forethought, we could have had the Village People.

I just came across these amazing Dexter posters designed by Ty Mattson. They're three-color screenprints on black paper and they're totally amazing. I can't believe how well they capture each season (although I'm only caught up through season two). I talked Jake into letting me buy Season 1! Possibly the most awesome part of this is that Ty created these, posted about them on his blog, and the next day the producers of the show came knocking. You can buy them on the Showtime website.

This past weekend we went to the Salt City Craft Market and it was so much fun! I got to visit with friends and talk letterpress to paper enthusiasts. There was a line out the door before the show opened and it was packed until right before closing time. I wish I had time to take photos of the whole show, but I was only able to snap some pics of the tables near mine, which were also great!

It's been serious calendar printing madness around the Pistachio Press studio. We just finished our annual 12-month wall calendar and this year the design was based on the clean, simple lines of Mid-Century modern aesthetics. I have to say, I am so happy with it! Same format as last year (4x11") with space at the bottom for special notes. And...the first 25 orders receive a free holiday card with the purchase!

I'm super excited to be exhibiting at the 2nd annual Salt City Urban Art & Craft Market! I had a great time at the market last year and I'm sure this year will be even better! There will be 40+ local designers and crafters hand-picked for their crafty ingenuity, 5 live music performances by local artists, and local food and beverages!

My sister's best friend got married over the summer and wanted a 1940s wedding, so I created these fun telegram invitations for her. I really love how they turned out and how open she was to keeping them playful. My favorite line on the invite: "reception to follow (non-stop)".

I'm so excited that I can finally show you this fabulous calendar, a collaboration between my good friend Jim DeLucia and Pistachio Press. As friends and studio mates for years we decided that a calendar would be the perfect project to work on together. Jim created the design and I took care of the letterpress printing. I hope you like it as much as we do!

Thanks for dealing with my post yesterday. Although I was still grumpy for a good part of the day and although I still think everything is hard, I finished the day so much better than the last. I made some headway on a few really big projects, got almost all of my inbox cleared out, and I will likely be in bed before 5am. My studio mates showed up at the studio today while I was there and, as usual, helped to cheer me up. I'm lucky to have such greatfriends. I also realized that it's been cold and rainy and that when summer ends I often get into a funk. So, I am going to make the best of the changing seasons and turn my mood around.

Things I am looking forward to:
*The start of Survivor Night, where we bank episodes of Survivor and watch with friends over pizza every few weeks.
*A very long walk through crunchy leaves with my pups.
*Stripping old wallpaper and painting our hallway and guest room an awesome shade of gray.
*Launching the 2011 calendar. The design is complete and the plates will be here soon.
*Meeting up with a fantastic group of stationers to go apple picking and chat about non-work things.
*Cheering for Jake at his second cyclocross this weekend.
*Learning more about Youngna Park, who made these great photos of sunlit balloons and winter flags.

On the door to our faculty office there's a bumper sticker that says "Art is Hard." And every time I see it, I silently agree. And then I think "Everything is Hard." It is. I'm really inspired by fellow stationer Julie's blog and lately she's been talking openly about how she (and other indie businesses) struggle to find balance. In the clean, design-y, beautiful blogging world this is noteworthy. In that blogging world things are perfect and no one talks about trading sleep to fold cards. No one mentions that it's almost impossible to figure out what the next step is when you're trying to turn a meaningful profit. No one mentions what a feat it is just to stay on top of what you already have in the works, let alone try to develop new product. So, I'm just going to lay it on the table...everything is hard. I have a feeling that many of you reading this also feel the same way.

This morning was completely annoying (no real reason, just one of those days) but one of my coworkers helped put things into perspective. I'm pretty lucky that today was a teaching day, too. On non-teaching day I often sit in front of the computer all day working, designing, emailing, and over thinking the little things to the point where I can make myself come to a stand still. On teaching days I have the opportunity to immerse myself in my student's work, to troubleshoot with them, to laugh, to put things in perspective, and to be inspired to make my own work.

But that inspiration and excitement only last so long and when I get home and head back to the computer (or the press) I find myself drawn back into the same routine. I'm just not sure how to find balance. I know it means that I probably need more of a schedule, a routine time to check email, to make proofs, a designated art-only time, and time when I know I will be printing. For me the hardest part of running a business is knowing that only I can do it. That I just have to make myself set up a schedule if I ever hope to have free time. So I'm going to try it. I think I'm ready.

{Images were shot during NYIGF tear-down. Maybe the weight of an impending gift show and calendar printing induced this post...}